List of tallest buildings in Baltimore


This list of tallest buildings in Baltimore ranks skyscrapers and high-rises in the United States city of Baltimore by height. The tallest building in Baltimore is the 40-story Transamerica Tower, which rises and was completed in 1973. It also stands as the tallest building in the State of Maryland.

History

The history of skyscrapers in Baltimore began with the completion in 1889 of the Equitable Building at the southwest corner of North Calvert and East Fayette Streets across from the Beaux Arts/Classical Revival architecture of the Baltimore City Courthouse of 1894–1900 and the landmark Battle Monument in Battle Monument Square, commemorating the fallen in the defense of the City against the British attack in the 1814 Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812. "The Equitable" as it became known replaced the earlier landmark from 1825, Barnum's City Hotel and was the first steel cage framed building with outside surface panels of stone hung on the frame, a new technique pioneered by Chicago architects like Louis Sullivan and Daniel Burnham.
Shortly after, the 1893 construction of the Fidelity Building, of which both are regarded as the first high-rises in the City. The building originally rose eight floors, but an additional seven stories with a terra cotta panels façade designed to match the original earlier grey granite rough-cut stone base, were constructed between 1912 and 1915, bringing the structure's total height to, making it the first building in Baltimore over.
Baltimore went through an early high-rise construction boom from the late 1890s to the Great Baltimore Fire of February 1904, when a half-dozen of new skyscrapers' so-called "fire-proof" but their interiors were burned out. Most were later judged by inspecting engineers/architects as structurally sound with their steel I-beam cage framing and masonry facades and were reconstructed and rehabilitated in the next five years in a flurry of downtown rebuilding. The next period from the 1910s to the late 1920s, during which time the Baltimore Trust Company Tower were constructed.
The City's central business district then experienced a long fallow period due to the Great Depression of the 1930s and the defense industrial efforts of World War II where very few skyscrapers were constructed and the downtown remained relatively stable. But with the proposals by the major business, commercial and industrial interests of the area with the release of the Charles Center project proposal by the recently organized Greater Baltimore Committee and the local Chamber of Commerce with the leadership of several mayoral administrations in 1958 continuing into the early 1970s, followed by a parallel soon-to-be nationally famous "Inner Harbor" redevelopment around the old waterfront piers, wharves, warehouses, offices and businesses of the former "Basin" along the Baltimore Harbor at the Northwest Branch of the Patapsco River continued another major building boom from the early 1960s to the early 1990s, during which the City saw the completion of 18 of its 24 tallest buildings, including the 1973 United States Fidelity and Guarantee Company's new headquarters at the corner of the harbor at Pratt and Light Streets and the five-sides/pentagonal high-rise centerpiece of the harbor, the Baltimore World Trade Center for the Maryland Port Administration in 1977.
The City is the site of two completed buildings that are at least high, with one more under construction and two proposed for construction. As of June 2008, there are 163 completed high-rises in the city. The most recently completed skyscraper in Baltimore is 414 Water Street, which rises and 33 floors. The 44-story apartment tower debuted in August 2018, making it the tallest residential building in Maryland.

Tallest buildings

This list ranks Baltimore skyscrapers that stand at least tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. An equal sign following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was completed.
RankNameImageHeight
ft 		FloorsYearNotes
1Transamerica Tower529 401973Has been the tallest building in Baltimore and Maryland since 1973. Tallest building in the city constructed in the 1970s. In 2011, the building was renamed the Transamerica Tower.
2Bank of America Building 509 371924Tallest building in Baltimore constructed in the 1920s.
3414 Light Street500 442018Opened for occupancy in 2018, the building's roof was topped out in November 2017. Built on the original site of the McCormick & Company Factory that was razed in the 1980s, the structure will be primarily residential.| Tallest building in the city constructed in the 2010s.
4William Donald Schaefer Building493 371992Tallest building in the city constructed in the 1990s.
5Commerce Place454 311992
6Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel430 322001
7100 East Pratt Street418 281992
8Baltimore World Trade Center405 321977Tallest regular pentagonal building in the world.
9Tremont Plaza Hotel395 371967Tallest building in Baltimore constructed in the 1960s. Now branded as Embassy Suites by Hilton.
10Charles Towers South Apartments385 301969Tallest residential building in Baltimore. Also known as Two Charles Center.
111 Light Street364 282018
12Blaustein Building360 301962
12=250 West Pratt Street360 241986Tallest building in the city constructed in the 1980s.
14Towers at Harbor Court356 281987
15Four Seasons Hotel and Residences352 282016
16=St. Paul Plaza350 251989
16=Exelon Tower350 202016
18=201 North Charles Street Building350 281967
18=Charles Towers North Apartments350 271967Also known as Eight Charles Center.
18=Legg Mason Tower350 242009Tallest building constructed in Baltimore in the 2000s.
18=St. Paul Plaza350 251989
22The Gallery at Harborplace346 281988
23414 Water Street344 332008
24HarborView Condominium343 291993Also known as Harborview Tower.
25=Charles Center South330 251975
25=Wells Fargo Tower330 241985Formerly known as First Union Signet Tower and Wachovia Tower.
27Redwood Tower323 231987
28=Mercantile Deposit and Trust315 211969
28=M&T Bank Building315 221972Also known as the First Maryland Building.
30Silo Point310 241923
31Vue Harbor East306 302007
32Mary Catherine Bunting Building, Mercy Medical Center302 182010
33Constellation Energy Building293 211916
34Emerson Bromo-Seltzer Tower289 151911
35=Radisson Hotel Baltimore Downtown-Inner Harbor280 271967
35=Liberty Harbor East280 202017
36Mercy Medical Center Inpatient Tower276 201963
37750 East Pratt Street272 182002
33Avalon 555 President280 242020
38Park Charles270 251985
39One Charles Center269 251963
40First National Bank Building254 201924
41One Calvert Plaza249 161901
42Standard Oil Building233 151922
43John and Frances Angelos Law Center231 122013
44Hilton Baltimore224 202008
45Fidelity Building220 151893

Tallest under construction or proposed

This lists buildings that are under construction or proposed for construction in Baltimore and are planned to rise at least, but are not yet completed structures. A floor count of 40 stories is used as the cutoff for buildings whose heights have not yet been released by their developers.
NameHeight
ft 		FloorsYear*
StatusNotes
415 S. Charles Street.-50-PlannedWaiting design/schematic approvals
300 East Pratt Street-40-PlannedMCB Real Estate and InterPark Holdings in the process of financing
325 W. Baltimore St.-32-Site cleared. Construction was originally schedule to commence by Q1 2017
Mechanic Theatre Redevelopment-20/32-Demolition complete. Vertical construction stalled because of litigation with parking garage operator
Canton Crossing400 --Proposed
801 Eastern Ave290 242019Topped Out
3401 Boston Street249 202020Planned
900 Fleet Street212 20-Planned

Timeline of tallest buildings

This lists buildings that once held the title of tallest building in Baltimore.
NameStreet addressYears as tallestHeight
ft 		FloorsReference
Fidelity Building05.0210 North Charles Street1893–1901220 15
One Calvert Plaza04.0201 East Baltimore Street1901–1911249 16
Emerson Bromo-Seltzer Tower06.0312 West Lombard Street1911–1923289 15
Constellation Energy Building02.039 West Lexington Street1916–1923289 21
B&O Railroad Grain Terminal07.01700 Beason Street1923–1924310 24
Baltimore Trust Company Building01.010 Light Street1924–1973509 37
Transamerica Tower03.0100 Light Street1973–present529 40